


A Certain Kind of Love

by KirbyWrites



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Claire Lives AU, F/M, Fluff, Ghost Claire, Mentions of Suicide, Unwound Future Spoilers, adorable little babeys, and i see more people ship kat with emiliana than with ernest, babeys, but idk, but really i just wanted to write what hershel saw in his coma, but to each their own, hershel needs love and i am going to give it to him, is it an au if you just make one change, kat teases ernest a lot, kind of an AU, or at least attempted suicide, they cute :'), this might count as an au, winter in the middle of august why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25815604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirbyWrites/pseuds/KirbyWrites
Summary: There's always a certain kind of love that never fails to make your heart melt.
Relationships: Claire/Hershel Layton, Ernest Greeves/Katrielle Layton, Lucy Baker/Alfendi Layton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	1. Let Me Join You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After losing Claire for the second time, Hershel wants nothing more than to join her in the sky.

Luke tossed and turned in his bed, trying to forget about recent events. Future London. Clive’s betrayal.

There had been a lot of things that had transpired over the past week, but the thing that had stuck with him most was watching the professor break down after losing Claire. The boy didn’t even want to think about how he’d be leaving London in a few days and how broken his mentor would be after he left.

Eventually, he found all attempts to sleep futile, so he got up, took his teddy bear, and gazed wistfully at Flora- who had had no trouble sleeping, to his jealousy. Teddy bear firmly held in his arms, Luke crept out of his and Flora’s room, quietly making his way to the kitchen for a glass of warm milk.

To his surprise, the light on the professor’s desk was on, and when the boy peered around the corner, Professor Layton was sitting at his desk, fiddling with a ceremonial dagger and looking at a picture in front of him. Luke came closer, and he could hear a few near silent words being spoken.

“Claire, let me join you… my dear… I miss you so much, let me join you…” As the professor said this, there were tears dripping down his face, and Luke, like the last time he had seen him crying, was terrified. Gulping, he decided to come out from behind the wall and walk into the room, hoping he could take his mentor’s mind off his dead lover for just a while.

“Um… Professah? Am I interrupting something?” Luke asked meekly, keeping his eyes on Layton. 

The professor turned around in surprise, dropping the dagger and pushing the picture behind him. “Luke, my boy,” he said warmly, smiling. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“I… yeah. I came out for a glass of milk and saw you sitting at your desk. I really hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”

“It’s alright, my boy. Go on, get your milk and head straight back to bed, alright? You have school tomorrow.”

“B-but Professah, tomorrow’s our-”

“Now Luke, please don’t argue. You’ll need your energy tomorrow, so I want you to head back as soon as possible.”

“Okay then…” Luke disappeared into the kitchen, poured a glass, and drank it before walking back to the hallway. “G’night, Professah…”

“Good night, Luke.” The boy disappeared from sight, and as soon as he was gone, Layton turned back and buried his face in his hands.

* * *

_The next day:_

By the time Luke walked out of his room in his pajamas, Flora was sitting at the table in the kitchen with breakfast in front of her. “Oh, there you are! Morning, Luke,” Flora greeted, scooping eggs into her mouth. 

“Good morning, Flora!” He chirped, jumping into the chair across from her and digging into his pancakes. “Er, have you seen the Professah?”

She shrugged. “He was gone by the time I woke up, but he did leave us breakfast, and this note.” Flora handed the slip of paper to her friend and continued eating. The boy read over the paper, trying to push last night’s events out of his mind.

_Luke, Flora:_

_If you are reading this, I will most likely be out of the apartment. I left breakfast for you, so do eat up and head to school. Whatever you do, do NOT go searching for me. This is something I must accomplish alone, and I do not want to bring you into any danger. Future London_ (the two words were smeared, as if some kind of liquid had fallen on them) _was enough danger already, and with you moving so soon, Luke, I doubt your parents would want me to take you on any more adventures. Have a good day at school. You should know the way just by walking._

_-Professor Layton_

“Flora, the Professah does know today’s our day off, right..?” Luke asked tentatively, looking at the other’s expression.

She nodded in agreement. “I knew something was wrong when I read the note. But the Professor wouldn’t have forgotten, would he? He’s much too intelligent to forget something like this.”

The boy gulped. “You’re right… but something’s wrong, Flora. Last night I couldn’t sleep and the Professah was up late again. I know it’s normal for him to stay up past our bedtime but he didn’t seem… himself when I saw him. He was crying!”

“Wha- crying? The Professor?”

Luke finished off his breakfast before explaining. “I don’t think he ever told you about Claire, did he? She was the Professah’s girlfriend, and she died in a time machine accident ten years ago. It exploded, but right before it exploded, it actually worked! She traveled through time and ended up here, but because of some science-y stuff I don’t understand, she couldn’t stay. She ended up disappearing after spending some time with the Professah and ever since then, he hasn’t really been himself. You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you?”

“I have, but I never thought it would be because of that…”

“He had a dagger with him last night. I- I’m scared for him, Flora!” Luke glanced at the racks of ancient artifacts Professor Layton had collected over the years, and sure enough, the obsidian dagger wasn’t there. “Look, it’s gone!”

Flora attempted a smile, taking both of their plates to the sink. “Maybe he took it for self-defense. After all, when you’re the Professor, you can’t exactly go around unprotected-”

“After what I just told you about his sadness when Claire died for the second time?! And he was saying how he missed her so much and he wanted to join her!”

“Luke! I thought the Professor said not to raise your voice at a lady!”

“That’s right, he did… Sorry, Flora, but what he said last night really put me on edge. You do understand the severity of the situation, right? He said he wanted to join Claire!”

“But Claire’s…” Flora gasped, shocked when the realization hit her. “Oh my gosh! We have to find him! But where do we start, London’s huge!”

The boy panicked for a while before he thought of something, a metaphorical lightbulb going off above his head. “Wait! There’s something else the Professah might’ve forgotten! He told me that he tags all his artifacts with a location chip just in case they’re stolen, and the device to find them is on the table over there!”

The two of them hurried to the table and turned the device on. The screen whirred to life and it soon showed several blips on the screen. Most of them were centered in one spot- likely the Professor’s flat- but one was located in a park quite far from the others.

“There it is!” Flora exclaimed, pointing at the glowing dot. “We have to get there quick!”

“That’s way too far for us to walk! We’ll never get there in time,” Luke cried. “I don’t want the Professah to die! Th-that means he’ll be gone forevah, and I don’t want that!”

“Hush, Luke! We’ll make it in time, I promise! Look, it’s a quarter past eleven, and the next bus going that way is in fifteen minutes! Let’s go!” 

“R-right!” Luke grabbed his bag from the couch, stuffed the device in it, and they left the flat together.

~-~-~-~-~

The obsidian dagger was cool in his hands, the cutting edge wickedly sharp. Hershel turned it over and over in his palms, not knowing what to do now that he was here. He’d gone to the nearest park and hidden in a copse of trees so no one would have to see his untimely demise.

Some part of him refused to leave the children alone in this world, said that Luke and Flora still needed him. After a long bout of grappling with it, however, he shut it down and returned to the knife in his hands. It would be ever so easy to just plunge the knife in his chest and join his beloved Claire in the sky. He’d been heartbroken the first time she left him, and last week had reopened wounds he didn’t even know he still had.

He’d lived the past ten years slowly coming to terms with her death, living life for the both of them like she would’ve wanted. At least this time, he had gotten the chance to say goodbye… but it still hurt nonetheless. The mere thought of her brought a choking sob to Layton’s chest, and he sank to the ground as his legs buckled from beneath him.

He leaned against a tree and sighed, tears slowly streaming down his face. Perhaps it was for the better. The children couldn’t possibly live with such a broken soul; it was for their sake. The lies didn’t do anything to convince his mind, so before he could regret it, he raised the dagger, willing himself to close his eyes and-

“Professah!! No, don’t do it!!” A familiar voice shouted. 

“Please, Professor, wait! You don’t need to!” Another called.

Hershel’s eyes shot open, his dagger-holding arm dropping to his side. “Luke..? Flora..?” Right on cue, the two children darted into the copse. Both hugged his arms, Luke on his left and Flora on his right. It didn’t escape Layton’s notice that the latter’s knee was on the flat part of the dagger, effectively pinning it down and preventing him from using it.

Luke was sobbing into his coat, his tears muffling his words. “Professah please, you’re not alone! You have us! And I don't know what I'd do if you died!!!, I can't do that!””

Flora was crying too, though her tears weren’t nearly as intense. “There’s a lot of people who care! Even though you leave me out on a lot of your adventures, I’m still grateful to you for rescuing me from St. Mystere and for everything you do for the two of us!”

The apprentice took this time to look into his mentor’s eyes. “Didn’t you tell me once that you kept going after Claire died the first time so you can experience life for the both of you? I don’t see why that has to change, and anyway, I don’t really think Claire would like it if you killed yourself! She’d want you to keep on living, wouldn’t she?” Luke turned his head to the sky, gazing at the clouds. “You can hear me, can’t you, Claire? You don’t want the Professah to die, do you?”

A light breeze blew through the clearing, even though the trees should’ve blocked it, and Flora smiled. “I think that’s her way of saying no, Professor. Besides, if you die, who’ll take over the record of being the youngest professor at Gressenheller, hmm? Certainly not Delmona.”

“And you said that Claire gave you that hat and you don’t take it off because you wanna honor her, right Professah? So every time you wear it is like a tribute to her!”

Layton chuckled, appreciating her attempt to lighten the mood. “She did, and the idea of honoring her through wearing the hat is nice. And I do suppose Delmona couldn’t take over that title either,” he replied, letting himself smile. “But now that you two are here, I do feel much better, so I would like it if you could let go of my arms.”

Luke made an unsuccessful attempt to stop crying and loosened the vice grip he had on his mentor’s arm. “Are you still going to try it, Professah..?”

“I should’ve known better than to try; you two depend on me. I will not, and that is a gentleman’s promise.”

Flora shifted so she was no longer on the dagger, and instead moved to the professor’s side. “I know you said a gentleman never breaks his promise, Professor, but… oh, I just can't trust it! I'm so sorry!” In one swift move, she swiped the dagger from his hand and hurled it into a tree, getting it stuck in the trunk.

Hershel stared at it for a good while before he burst into laughter. “Goodness! I’ve heard of sword in the stone, but never of dagger in the tree.” At that, the children cracked up, the tears giving way to laughter. The professor hugged them tightly, and they hugged back with every ounce of strength they could muster. Layton felt a strong warmth in his chest, and after a while, he looked up to see a very familiar spirit. His eyes widened.

Normally he didn’t believe much in ghosts, but this time, he had to make an exception. 

The name escaped his mouth in a single breath. “Claire.” She turned to him and smiled warmly, making the warmth in Hershel’s heart flutter even more. Her mouth started moving like she was talking, and even though no audible sound came out, the professor swore he could hear her voice in his head. 

_Hershel. I hope my departure this time didn’t hurt you too much, my love._ She fiddled with her glasses and laughed softly. _You’ve got so much more to live for, and it isn’t your time yet. I know you miss me, and I miss you too. I want you to continue to live for the both of us, so please stay strong. After all, isn’t that what a gentleman does?_

Layton smiled, feeling heat rush through his cheeks just like the first time they had kissed. “It is. And I’ll keep doing it for you, until the day we are together again.”

Luke noticed his mentor talking to what seemed like no one, and he turned his head. “Professah, who are you- oh! It’s Claire, isn’t it?”

Flora, at the sound of Luke’s voice, turned her head as well. “You’re right! My, Professor, you had such a pretty girlfriend!” Both Claire and Layton flushed, and the latter hid his deep red blush with his hat. 

_You never changed, did you, Hershel? Well then, I must go now. I’ll come and visit some other day. And remember, this isn’t goodbye, only so long._ She came closer to him and gently kissed his forehead- though, to the professor, it felt more like a phantom touch.

Then the sun broke through the clouds and shone right on her, engulfing her spirit and bringing her back to heaven. Once the clouds covered the sun again, Claire was gone, but the professor still had a smile on his face.

Layton sighed, then turned to the children. “I thought you two had school,” he scolded. "Don't tell me you skipped!"

“We don’t, Professor! It was our day off today, remember? You said you were going to have a picnic with us today,” Flora reminded, laughing. 

“A-ah, were we? I truly forgot… and how, may I ask, did you find me?”

Luke grinned widely and pulled the device from his bag. “We’ve outsmarted you, haven’t we, Flora? Professah, remember when you said you tagged all your artifacts? Isn’t that-” he gestured to the dagger stuck in the tree- “one of them?”

Hershel sighed, realizing that he had tagged all his things. “I do believe you're right, Luke… well, now that my plans are off, what would you two like to do?”

Flora was thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. “You always ask what we want to do, but you deserve something too! So today, we’re going to do whatever _you_ want for a change! What do you think, Professor?” Layton looked from his apprentice, who was nodding vigorously, to his adopted daughter, who was smiling at him.

“Alright then. Since you insist, how would the two of you feel about ice cream?”

Luke’s eyes lit up. “Really?! Can we, Professah?! Please, please, please!”

Flora was ecstatic as well. “Yes, it’ll be such a pleasure to do something like this again!”

The professor chuckled, standing up and taking the children with him. “And here I thought we were going to do what I wanted. Well, your excitement does make it slightly better. Let’s be on our way then.” The children cheered and clung onto Layton’s sleeves as they left, a physicist’s spirit smiling at them from behind a tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Layton may be a bit OOC in this but he really did love Claire so...
> 
> Also the scene with Luke and Flora talking the professor out of killing himself was meant to be longer but I forgot most of it :P


	2. Just One Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One small change can have a plethora of effects down the line...

Hershel was sitting at the table, sipping his tea, when Claire stepped in with a large box. 

He could see she was trying to be inconspicuous, so the newly appointed professor chuckled to himself, closed his eyes, and took another sip of tea. He slipped one hand into his pocket, running his fingers over the velvet ring box and smiling. 

Suddenly, worry clouded his mind. A time machine was certainly such new technology that there just _had_ to be a problem with it. Yes, he knew Claire, and yes, she was as smart as could be, but there was just something... wrong with today. Some might've called it paranoia, but he called it intuition. 

Then his mind conjured a scene; he recognized the location- it was on the street right in front of Claire’s lab- but he didn’t know what to make of all the chaos. To his horror, the lab was ablaze, but the most striking thing he noticed was that his beloved was missing. He focused his eyes on the blaze, and he vaguely overheard what seemed like Constable Chelmey’s voice rattling off a death list… and one of the names on it was Claire Foley. 

“Hello? Earth to Hershel?” Claire’s voice called. 

Hershel gasped, the fiery mess being replaced with his still-alive girlfriend with her hands behind her back. “Ah yes, apologies, my dear,” he sighed, taking comfort in the walls of their flat. “What is that behind your back?”

The physicist laughed, placing the box in front of him. “Here you go!”

The professor, for once, was quite confused. “What’s this now?”

Claire sat in a chair at the other side of the table, smiling and watching him intently. “Open it and see! I’m not spoiling anything.” 

Hershel stood and untied the ribbon, revealing a brown silk hat. “A… hat?”

She giggled a little. “For the newly appointed professor! Congratulations!”

He couldn’t keep the smile from his face, remembering his joy when he’d passed the exam. “Thank you.”

Claire stood, pushing him back down on the seat and removing his cap. “You’re a fully fledged member of the academic community now, so you’ve got to look the part!” She took the hat from the box and placed it on his head, still smiling widely. “Very dashing, Hershel! The picture of a true gentleman!”

It was something she always called him, and yet the professor couldn’t keep himself from blushing at the thought. “A true gentleman?”

He moved to take it off and examine it, but the physicist immediately stood to stop him. “No, leave it on! It suits you, it really does. So no taking it off!” She hummed in approval, then glanced at the clock. “Oh, look at the time! I didn’t realize how late it was! I have to go to the lab, we’re running a very important experiment today. Let’s continue this conversation over dinner tonight. Oh, and promise me you’ll wear the hat! It’s not your usual style, but keep an open mind. After all, isn’t that what a gentleman does?” 

Claire slipped her lab coat on and grabbed her bag; just as she reached the door, Hershel remembered what he’d seen and he panicked, stumbling out of his chair. His foot caught on the table leg, however, and he crashed to the ground, his new hat tumbling off his head.

“Oh, Hershel! Are you alright?” Claire exclaimed, helping him up and placing the hat back on his head. She looked at the clock again. “I really do have to go now, so please don’t try to fall again.” She headed back towards the open door.

“Uh, Claire, wait!” He yelled instinctively. The physicist stopped again, looking back at him. “I… have something to ask of you.”

“Do try to make it quick, Hershel, the experiment starts soon! What did you want to ask me?” She looked at him just as inquisitively as the first time they had gone out for dinner, the time he had wanted so badly to propose but couldn’t.  The professor pulled the box out of his pocket, feeling his face warming up. By the time he had it in his hands, he was so embarrassed he could hardly speak. 

Still, he had to try.

“C-Claire, w-will you… um…”

Claire looked more than a little concerned, given that her boyfriend’s face was redder than his cap and he was trembling from head to toe. “Hershel? Are you alright, my love? If there’s something wrong, I can always stay behind!”

“I… uh, Claire, will you…” Feeling that it was impossible to get any more words out, the professor looked down, brought the box into her sight and opened it, showing the gleaming golden ring to her. 

Claire gasped excitedly, and she immediately engulfed him in a hug. “Goodness, I didn’t think  _ that _ was the kind of question you were going to ask! Yes, Hershel, a million times yes!” When they finally separated, Hershel pulled his cap down, trying to hide his intense blushing, and silently slipped the ring on her finger. As soon as he had done so, Claire did the same to him with the silver band in the box, jumped right back into his arms, and pressed a kiss to his lips, both of them flushed by the time they pulled away.

“Er, now that we’re… you know…” He held up his right hand, the silver merrily twinkling. “Shall I accompany you to your lab? I can wait for you in the cafe across the street.”

“Normally, I would say no because I'm already late and just take the bus, but… seeing how today is quite special, I'll make an exception and let you walk me there.”

The professor hugged her, feeling the heat slowly subside from his face. “So is that a yes?”

Claire laughed, then flicked his chest playfully. “Only if you keep the hat on!”

* * *

They had been laughing at a puzzle together, Claire giggling as she struggled to find the answer and Hershel chuckling as he gazed at his girlfriend- now fiance’s- face. That all ended when the building right in front of them exploded. 

The physicist gasped, clinging to her boyfriend's arm, and they both stared as what had been her lab went up in flames. Both of them were breathing heavily, and it was only after the chaos started that they were spurred into action. “The time machine… exploded?!” She exclaimed in horror, watching the flames leap from the lab to the apartments next door. “This must’ve been what Dimitri was trying to warn me about yesterday! Wait… Dimitri!! Hershel, he’s still in there!”

“No! You can’t go in!” The professor shouted. “I can’t lose you!” 

Claire looked around wildly until she saw a limp body near the burning entrance. “Dimitri!” She wrenched herself free of her beloved’s arms and rushed inside before he could do anything. He only watched anxiously as she lifted her colleague onto her back. A second explosion occurred, and they were thrown to the side, making the professor even more worried than he had been before. 

After a while, she got up and escaped almost as quickly as she went in. A few paramedics approached her and took the body from her. The moment the physicist had her arms free, Hershel tackled her into a hug, tears falling from his eyes. 

“Don’t ever do that again, Claire,” he murmured. He realized that her hair smelled like smoke now, not the lavender it usually was.

Claire was both coughing and crying at the same time, her body wracked with tremors. “I- I don’t understand, all the calculations were perfect, I made sure of that! Bill- maybe he knew it was going to explode and I would’ve  _ died _ if I’d gone out earlier-”

“I-it’s alright now, my dear… you’re alive, and that’s all that matters.” 

“Hershel, did you know this was going to happen? Is this why you proposed right before I left?”

“I was merely envisioning what could possibly go wrong, and it's not that I don't trust you, but this is such new technology that we don't know what can go wrong! I was terrified, terrified that I might lose you forever!” He drew back and noticed a gash on Claire’s arm, the mere sight of the blood scaring him. “Y-you’re bleeding!”

“I am?” She glanced at her left arm, noticing that it really was bleeding. “We should go to the hospital then! Ah, and my arm… I think I broke it…” The professor, nearly panicking, was just about to take her there when he saw Chelmey trying to keep a boy from darting into the flames. 

“No, you can’t go in there! That's suicide!” The inspector was shouting, trying to block his path.

“My parents!” The boy shrieked hysterically. “They’re still in there!” Hershel noticed that his clothes were singed and his hands burned, and he knew he had to intervene. He let go of Claire and came up to the boy, slapping him across the face. The child seemed to be bordering on the edge of adolescence- he was likely no older than twelve or thirteen.

“Get a hold of yourself, boy!” Hershel commanded, holding the teen as he struggled to get out. 

“But my parents-”

“The police will do everything they can to find them and get them out! There is nothing we can do!” Looking at the teenage boy’s heartbroken face, however, made him soften. “Why don’t you come to the hospital with me and Claire? If your parents are found alive, you can meet them there.”

“O-ok…” The professor let the boy climb onto his back, took Claire’s hand in his, and left the scene of chaos behind him.

* * *

“So then, what’s your name, my boy?” Hershel asked kindly. They were waiting in the hallway outside the room where Claire was being treated, and the professor guessed he might as well learn about the kid he had brought with him.

“It’s Clive…” He whispered, holding on to the sleeve of the professor’s jacket.

“Hershel Layton. You must be very shaken, Clive. Is there anything you would like to talk about?”

“My parents… are they never coming back?” 

Layton winced, not knowing how to explain the concept of death to him. “I don’t know. Hopefully they do, but only time will tell. Until then, all we can do is wait.” 

“But they were in the building! That’s why I wanted to go in, so I could help them!”

“Helping others is the duty of every gentleman, but everyone deserves to have a chance to live peacefully. Had you gone in and found your parents, you may not have escaped alive- and that is another life lost.”

“I suppose… are you a gentleman?”

The professor chuckled, tipping his hat and winking. “I try my best to be.”

“You seem very nice to your girlfriend!” Clive smirked at the other’s growing blush. “I wanna be like you someday!”

“That’s very nice of you, Clive, but one should always strive to be the best person you can be. It never pays off to copy others.” The boy nodded enthusiastically, smiling. Then the door opened and Claire emerged, her gauze-covered arm in a sling and a white patch on her face. 

“Hello there, you two,” she said, lightly smiling. She stood next to Clive and stroked his hair lovingly. “You'll be alright! Would you like to come to the cafe with us and eat?”

“That's very nice of you… but I wanna stay here and wait for my parents.”

“Well, after we eat, we'll come back and see if there's any change. I wouldn't want you to starve yourself waiting.”

“Ok, I'll go with you. I am kinda hungry…” Claire took Clive's hand and let Hershel drape his arm around her shoulders.

~-~-~-~-~

When they went outside, the fires had mostly stopped, smoke rising from the half-burnt buildings. But the trio were soon stopped by Chelmey on the way to the cafe, and by the look on his face, the physicist and professor knew it wouldn’t be good. Clive, however, was completely oblivious. 

“Ah, you there!” Chelmey exclaimed, walking over to them with a list in his hands. He lowered his voice, glancing at the boy before continuing. “The boy, his name is Clive Dove, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. Have you found anything concerning his parents, Inspector?” Hershel asked quietly. “He’s been quite distraught over the loss of them.”

“We found them. But uh… it was too late for us to do anything. They were pronounced dead when the fires were put out.”

“Oh…” Claire sadly looked at Clive, who was still looking at them, not knowing what was going on. “Is there a way we might be able to keep the news from him? I can’t bear to see another life ruined by our faulty experiment… Damn that Bill Hawks, he should’ve known!”

“Claire! Language!” He hissed, nudging her with his shoulder. Her free hand flew to her mouth, and she laughed nervously with a blush on her face.

The inspector coughed, drawing their attention back to the grave matter on their hands. “I don’t think there’s any way to fully keep the news from him. He’ll find out sooner or later that his parents are dead-” 

Clive gasped from behind them, and all three adults winced. “N-no…” He glared tearfully at them, but his gaze was trained right on Claire. “You said I’d be alright! Having my parents dead is  _ not _ alright!!!” Then he ran off, the sound of sobbing almost drowning out his footsteps.

“Oh, poor child…” Claire mumbled, gazing as he left the street. 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now,” Chelmey huffed. “I can send a few sentries to look after the kid, but after this whole mess is sorted.” He turned to the physicist. “Claire Foley, I presume? I’ll need to bring you in for questioning tomorrow.”

Hershel stepped between the inspector and Claire, clearly angry. “She did nothing wrong!”

“She may not have done anything wrong, sir, but she  _ was _ part of the team that helped develop the time machine. As such, I need her to answer some questions. Just legal procedure.”

“Hershel, please, it’s quite alright. Much as I hate to admit it, I am partially responsible for ruining all these lives…”

“Hmph. I’ll be expecting you tomorrow then, Miss Foley. Now leave- this is no place for civilians.” Chelmey marched off, and as soon as he left, Claire burst into tears.

“Oh dear…” Hershel sighed and hugged her as she cried into his shoulder. “Claire, none of this was your fault. Even if you had showed up, it would’ve exploded anyway.”

“But we tried to break the laws of nature! We  _ tried _ , and that’s the worst part. I- I should’ve  _ known _ …” She cried harder, her voice breaking, and this led the professor to hug her harder. “I helped kill people, Hershel! I’m a horrible person!”

The professor thought over his words before speaking. “My dear, you couldn’t have possibly known it would’ve exploded. You may have helped make it, but who was the one that decided the experiment would be today?”

“B-Bill…”

“And if he did this knowing it would malfunction, well then, that makes him the perpetrator, not you. And you aren’t horrible. In fact, I think you’re the best, most wonderful-” he pressed a kiss to her head- “person on this earth. You have no reason to say otherwise.”

Claire nodded silently, the tears burning her eyes and fogging up her glasses. “C-can we go home..?”

“Of course. A gentleman always puts the needs of a lady first.”

* * *

Later that night, the two were curled up on the couch under a mound of blankets, rain gently falling outside. Claire was still visibly upset, and Hershel had been trying everything he could to comfort her. 

So far, he’d found that physical touch helped most, and while he normally didn’t like displays of affection, he’d do anything to cheer up his beloved. “I still can’t believe we tried to rewrite time,” she mumbled dejectedly, her head resting on her boyfriend's arm. “We should never have messed with the flow of time.”

“Claire, what must I do to assure you it wasn’t your fault? All humans make mistakes,” he comforted, stroking her head. “What happened to the wonderful, vivacious woman I proposed to this morning?”

“Still here, but I just don’t like that I ruined so many people’s lives…”

“Hm… well, it’s best to leave the past in the past and look to the future. Had you left early, we would’ve lost our future together.”

“I know... thank you for being so kind, Hershel. I love you.” The physicist rose slightly and kissed her fiance’s cheek with a smile before settling back down into the blankets. She had just closed her eyes when the doorbell rang. Hershel started to get up, but she pushed him back down.

“You’ve done so much already, dear. I’ll get it,” Claire said, smiling. “I love you, love you, love you so much.” She kissed his lips, giggling at his mad blushing, and went to answer the door. Humming, the physicist unlocked the door and gasped once she saw who it was.

“Clive! Goodness, what are you doing here?!” She exclaimed, the professor rushing to her side.

The teen was leaning on the doorframe, soaked through and shivering so hard that his teeth were chattering. “S-so c-c-cold… c-can I..?”

“Yes, of course you can come in! Hershel, go get some spare pajamas for him, we’ll need him out of these wet clothes immediately.” Layton nodded and quickly left. Claire helped the boy inside, but as soon as Clive’s hand left the door, he stumbled and crashed to the ground. 

Claire closed the door and hauled the boy to the spare couch. “Oh, Clive, you must be exhausted! We should've gone looking for you, I'm sorry!” The boy shook his head in response, partly to assure his rescuers and partly to reassure himself.

Hershel returned, a bundle of dry clothes and a towel in his arms. “Clive, my boy, are you alright? You must’ve had quite the ordeal.” He started ruffling the boy’s hair with the towel. “We'll get you warm and dry in no time.”

“Th-thank you, I just h-have n-nowhere else to g-go… I-I’m not a b-burden on you, a-am I..?” 

Claire kissed the professor’s cheek affectionately, effectively stunning him, and she snatched the towel from him with a sly grin. “Oh heavens no! We’ll make some tea, and you can take a hot shower and change out of your wet clothes. Hershel, so sorry to bother you again, but would you-”

“Mind? Certainly not. Clive, in the meantime, why don't you go shower and change? This won't take very long.” The boy nodded, taking the clothes and disappearing into the bathroom, and the professor headed into the kitchen. He searched the shelves in the dark; he'd just grabbed the jar of loose-leaf Belle Classic when a wet, light blue cloth was flung onto his head. He nearly dropped the tea jar, but a pair of warm hands clasped his. 

“Claire…” Hershel sighed exasperatedly, shaking the towel off his head with a smile. “Don't do that.”

“But I  _ like _ messing with you, Hershey dear,” she giggled, squishing his cheeks. “Because you’re my adorable sweetheart!” The professor merely hummed- his cheeks flaring red- and started making the tea, and a few minutes later, they were sitting on the couch waiting for Clive. 

The bathroom door clicked open, and he came out, jumping on the couch between the two. The boy gratefully accepted his own cup of tea, and before long, the cup was empty and he had fallen asleep on Claire’s shoulder. The two gazed at him fondly, then at each other. 

“We could always adopt him,” she whispered, smiling at her boyfriend. “He seems like a very nice child.”

“And with his parents… you know… it would be terribly cruel to the poor boy to just abandon him,” Hershel replied, placing his empty cup on the table. “Yes, I think we shall adopt him.”

“Because that’s what a gentleman does?”

“Precisely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has probably been said a lot, but Claire deserves to live and Clive deserves to be happy!!!
> 
> I just want them all to be happy and have a little family together 😭


	3. A Midwinter's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire gets an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I can write winter fluff in the middle of August, and these two just make me so weak :'D
> 
> A bit of a shorter chapter today because school starts tomorrow and I wanted to get this out before it started. Enjoy!

Claire stirred when she heard a knock on the door. It took her a while to get up, seeing as she’d fallen asleep on her physics notes, but she eventually mustered the energy to get off her chair. 

“Coming,” she called, her voice slurred from sleep. She didn’t need to see who it was; there was only one person who’d come to her flat at- the physicist squinted at the clock on her wall- 1 in the morning. 

She really hoped her boyfriend had a good reason to come at such a late hour, and while she didn’t mind cuddling with him, midterms were tomorrow. 

“Hershel, what did I tell you about coming here in the middle of the night..?” Claire rubbed her eyes, blinked a little, and saw that he was standing outside without a coat. “Goodness, you must be freezing! Come in before you get sick!” She stepped aside, letting him in, and it was here that the physicist noticed his intense shivering. 

Claire led Hershel to the couch and immediately ran off to her room once he’d sat down. She returned with every last blanket from said room, dumping them all on the archaeology student-  _ her _ archaeology student, she mused silently- and arranged them as she saw fit. As soon as he was swaddled in her blankets, she kissed him, the cold making her lips tingle, and headed to the kitchen to fix some tea for the both of them. 

She put the kettle on the stove, ensuring it was full with water, and hurried back to him. Claire threw herself onto the couch, stifling a yawn, and plunged her hand into the blankets. She searched for his hand and quickly found it. She happily held it, their fingers intertwining, but after a while, the physics student opted to trace hearts on his palm instead. “Hershel, dear, can you feel what I’m doing?” She murmured, leaning on the blanket pile that was her boyfriend.

He chuckled, trying his best to keep his voice from shaking. “I do apologize, but I can barely move, much less feel anything. But with such warm care, I'm sure I'll be quite alright.”

She hummed contentedly, her thumb still moving across his frigid hand. “I’ll hold you to that then. Anyway, why did you deem it important to walk 20 minutes from your flat to mine in the middle of the night, in  _ January _ ?” As she played with his hand, she still felt him shivering, but it didn’t seep into his voice like she’d expected- a good sign for sure.

Hershel willed his fingers to move, and after a few tries, stopped Claire’s movement and clasped her hand affectionately. “I had been working on my essay when I heard the radio say there’d been a gun fight near where you lived. I merely wanted to make sure they hadn’t harmed you, my dear.”

“Gun fight?” She had heard a few bangs go off in the distance but… “You mean those were  _ gunshots _ ? I thought those were early New Year's fireworks! I know they don’t really sound the same, but I was quite out of it before I fell asleep…”

“You're unharmed, and that's all I ask for-” The kettle shrieked, making Claire jump, and after a few minutes of tightly gripping the nearby blankets, she leapt to take it off the stove. She came back with two cups of Earl Grey and watched amusedly as Hershel freed his hands from the masses of blankets. 

Once they were free, she handed him a cup and sat back down on the couch, nuzzling Hershel lovingly. For a good while, silence reigned in the small apartment, the only sound being the quiet sipping of tea. Then he sighed, and placed his cup on the coffee table.

“Claire, dear, I think I should be going,” he said, shrugging the blankets off him. “I only came to check on you, and now that you’re fine and I am warmed up, I have no other reason to stay.”

“Out into that storm? Pshh, like I’m gonna let you,” Claire scoffed, pulling him back down. “You’re still shaking, you know. Or did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Hershel froze just as he was about to stand up. “Claire, I just-”

“Stay here, Hershey dear!  _ Please _ ?” She looked at him pleadingly, and the archaeology student exasperatedly ran a hand through his hair.

“You, Claire Foley, will be the death of me someday.” He fell back onto the sofa with a smile and pulled Claire into his arms before burying them both under the blankets.

“No, you’ll be the death of yourself, silly! You work much too hard.” Claire kissed his chin and laid her head on his chest, already lulled to sleep by the warmth.

He looked at her cheekily. “And who, exactly, was up studying when I knocked? Or rather, had fallen asleep studying?”

While half asleep, the physics student was still able to formulate a decent comeback. “Who spent 20 minutes walking here instead of studying? We have midterms tomorrow, you know.”

“Touché… but I don’t exactly have my studying materials here.” Hershel didn’t get a reply, and he looked down to find his girlfriend already asleep. 

He laughed quietly, then let himself rest, Claire’s warmth driving out the chill in his bones.


	4. Just a Little Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfendi takes a day off to take care of Lucy

Alfendi's pen glided over the paper, filling out the last box and placing it atop the tallest pile of papers on his desk. He glanced around the Mystery Room, noting that Lucy still hadn’t come in yet. Feeling his personality already start to change, he looked at the clock and saw that it was already 9. 

To say he was worried was an understatement; yes, Lucy was normally late, but even then, she tended to show up around 8:30. The inspector sighed, trying not to let his mind linger on the thought of Lucy- there was still criminal scum to weed out of London. He had just picked up another form to fill out when the phone rang. 

“Hello? Who is this?” He said, hoping the call wouldn’t be too long.

“Ah, Prof… That’s ya, right, Fendi..?” It was Lucy, but she was quieter than her usual bubbly self. “Look, ‘m sorry I ain’t at work-”

Alfendi’s personality changed at the drop of a hat, his hair reddening and falling over his eyes. “And would you care to tell me why, Baker?!” 

“An’ ‘ello t’ya too, Al! As I was ‘bout t’say, I’m-” Her voice was cut off by a round of coughing, making the inspector gasp in concern, Fendi coming right back.

“You're sick.” He was blinking as he said the blunt statement, as if he couldn’t believe it himself.

“Aye… sorry ‘bout that, Prof… but please try to get summat done while you’re there, eh? I’d hate for nowt to get done jus’ ‘cause I ain’t there.”

“Y-yes. Of course, Lucy.” He lowered his voice, hoping his assistant wouldn’t hear. “I’ll be there in a few.”

“Ta very much, Prof! Hopefully I’ll be better tomorrow… g’bye!” She hung up, but not before Alfendi heard her sneeze and curse herself for being sick. The inspector gazed in front of him, his focus lost, until he leapt up, his course set for the commissioner’s office. 

~-~-~-~-~

After a few minutes of talking with Commissioner Barton (who had been surprisingly lenient about his day off), Alfendi was driving to Lucy’s flat. Granted, he didn’t know why- there were still criminals to apprehend and mysteries to solve- but both his personalities were dead set on helping her.

**Drive faster, you dolt. We’ll never get there in time!**

_ Excuse me, who’s the one driving? Certainly not you. _

**Well, now that you’ve mentioned it, I think I will! No laws are going to stop us from seeing Baker!** The car swerved, and the two stopped their bickering to quickly steer the car back into its lane.

_ Do you  _ want _ us to die! Also, in case you’ve forgotten, we’re part of the law. We can’t just break it however we please! _

**Shut up, will you?! And turn into the parking lot now, you almost missed it.** He parked the car in an empty space, and now that they were at her complex, Al reluctantly took the backseat and let his other half climb the stairs to Lucy’s third floor flat. 

All the while, Alfendi was desperately hoping she was alright; he had no idea what he’d do without her. Yes, he had been adamant that he didn’t need an assistant at first, but ever since Lucy had started helping, he found himself enjoying her company. 

Maybe it was her sweet nature, maybe it was the fact that she didn’t treat him like a living time bomb, but there was just something about her that made Alfendi want to be near her. Soon enough, the inspector found himself at her door, but couldn’t bring himself to knock.

**Do it already! Every second you don’t knock is a second she could die!**

_ And what is she going to die from, boredom? It wouldn’t hurt to just wait… _

**Pathetic. If you’re not going to do it, I will!** Alfendi, his hair flame red, raised his hand and knocked.

* * *

Lucy looked up from her bed when she heard a knock. She groaned and buried her face into the blankets, hoping whoever it was would leave if she didn't answer. Sadly, that wasn't the case, and the knocking persisted until she grew tired of it. 

Grumbling and wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she shuffled towards the door, the cold pack threatening to slip off her head. She unlocked the door but didn't undo the chain lock at the top, wanting to see who it was first. “Eh up- Prof? Whatcha doin here?” Lucy exclaimed, wincing when her sore throat protested. “Why aren't ya at t'Mystery Room, Prof?”

“I wanted to take care of you, or rather, Al wouldn't leave me alone until we did,” Alfendi sighed, chuckling. “You don't mind if I come in, right?”

“O' course not, Prof! I just-” Lucy coughed again, and the inspector undid the chain lock himself, coming in and locking the door.

“Oh Lucy, you look terrible…” She glared witheringly at him, and though it was partially ruined by her red eyes and sniffling, he hurriedly added something else. “I mean, you normally look gorgeous, but because you're sick, you don’t look like you usually do.”

She glared at him a bit more before her face softened. “Ta very much, Prof! Now if ya don't mind, can ya help me t'the couch?” He lifted her up, Lucy squealing as she was lifted, and Alfendi carefully lowered her onto the soft cushions. He was about to leave and prepare some soup for her when she caught his hand and feebly held on. 

“Lucy..?” The inspector looked back at her, his face full of concern. “What do you want?”

“Don’t leave, Prof… please?” She looked up at him pitifully, and he sighed, sitting down on the ground beside her. 

“Alright, I won’t go. Why do you need me here anyway?”

“Summat about you jus’ makes me relax. No idea what, but whenever I’m around ya, I feel real good!”

Alfendi felt his heart warm and his stomach flutter. “I won't leave you here, Lucy. Neither of us will.”

“Alright, ta Prof…” Her eyes closed, and within minutes, she was asleep, her fingers still wrapped around his. The inspector stared at their hands, then moved his gaze to his sleeping assistant. There was a small grin on her face, and her ears twitched from time to time- not unlike the way they did whenever she was happy or correct in her deductions. 

Alfendi's heart melted at the sight, but he soon snapped out of it, berating himself for not being more useful to her. He reluctantly let go of Lucy's hand and headed off to the kitchen, hoping there was at least some food he knew how to cook. The inspector searched the cupboards and immediately found two cans of chicken noodle soup. He found a large pot, poured the soup inside, and started heating it up.

~-~-~-~-~

  
The soup was ready and waiting on the stove, but when Alfendi looked, Lucy was still asleep. The blanket she had wrapped around her shoulders was strewn on the floor, and she had curled in on herself in an effort to preserve her warmth. 

He picked up the blanket and placed one hand on her forehead, hissing in concern when the heat burned his hand. The inspector tossed the blanket on her and ran to the bathroom, soaking a rag in cold water and hurriedly dashing back to put it on her head. 

She whimpered at the initial touch, but stopped when Alfendi held her hand. He tried letting go, but Lucy's feeble whimpers were too much for him to bear; he couldn't stand seeing her in pain. Yes, the soup would need to be heated up again, and yes, he was falling asleep against the couch, but just the thought of leaving Lucy had both personalities adamantly refusing to get up. 

Feeling sleep beginning to claim him, he sighed, resting his head on her chest. The inspector listened to his assistant's heartbeat, absently wondering if it belonged to him. He lifted his head, trying to shake off the sleep, and kissed her cheek before laying his head down again and closing his eyes. 

_ Sleep well, Lucy. I love you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucifendi adorable!! <3
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, kudos and comments greatly appreciated! :)


	5. Someday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the time machine accident, Claire and Hershel meet again.

Hershel opened his eyes, finding himself on a grassy hill. The last thing he remembered was overwhelming pain shooting from the back of his head- just what had happened to him? There seemed to be no one around, but when he got up, he heard the voice that had been haunting him ever since that fateful day. “Hershel! There you are! And oh, you're still wearing the hat!” Struggling to hold in tears at the voice, the professor turned, hoping it wasn't who he thought it was.

He pulled the brim of his top hat down. “No… Claire..?” He asked, his voice threatening to break.

Claire smiled and walked over to him, grasping his hand. “What's wrong, Hershel? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

In a way, he had, and he gaped at her for a good while. “You… you're dead! I saw the body, you have to be!”

The physicist sighed and chuckled. “Yes, Hershel, I am. What about it scares you so?”

He felt her hand with her thumb, trying to figure out if she was real. “You're dead, so if I'm here, does that mean I'm..?”

“To be quite honest, I'm not sure. If you're here, then you must be, but you still show signs of being alive. I believe you are currently suspended between life and death.”

Hershel paid no attention to the last part, a smile slowly overtaking his face. “Either way…” The professor pulled Claire into a hug, laughing as he spun her around. “I get to be with you again, my dear. You have no idea how much I've missed you.”

She smiled widely, returning the hug with every bit of her strength. “And I you, Hershel. It's ever so wonderful to see you again.” 

Hershel twirled around, holding her to his chest, and Claire squeaked as her glasses flew off her face. “Hershel, my glasses!” 

The professor let her go, sheepishly pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes. “Apologies. I suppose I did get a bit carried away…”

She picked up the fallen item and put it back on. “It's alright, my love. If you're going to stay, you might as well stay at my place! How does that sound, Hershel?”

“Claire, nothing would make me happier.”

~-~-~-~-~

Before either of them knew it, the days had turned into weeks. 

Hershel woke each day with Claire in his arms, the scent of her floral shampoo tickling his nose, and he never wanted to leave. The professor, though timid by nature, persuaded her to join him on adventures around their world- and their world it seemed to be. 

Aside from the animals living in the forest around Claire's home, neither of them had seen nor heard any other humans. Yes, it was a wonderfully peaceful life. But one day, at the end of the month, he approached Claire in a panic. 

“Claire! I-I'm fading!” He exclaimed, holding up his right hand. Part of it had faded completely, and the rest of his arm was fading into shining yellow particles. 

The physicist sighed defeatedly, leading him to the couch and sitting him down on it. “So the time has come,” she murmured. “I had hoped you'd stay a little longer.”

“Claire, what's going on here?!”

“Hershel, I thought I told you this. You are suspended between life and death, and it seems that your body is returning to the living world.”

“No! I won’t leave you! Let me stay!”

“I accepted my fate long ago, my dear. And even though we wish for things to change, we cannot tamper with the laws of nature. Trust me, if there was a way to keep you here… no. There are still people who need you, and as such, you cannot stay.”

Hershel’s eyes brimmed with tears, and he hugged Claire with what was left of his body. “I don’t want to leave you! I love you, Claire, a-and…” His voice faltered as the glowing particles moved up towards his head. “I’ll miss you so much.”

“It has been a truly amazing time with you, Hershel. Now go. There are people waiting, and a gentleman doesn’t keep others waiting!”

He smiled for the first time that day. “Of course not. Goodbye, Claire.”

“Oh, this isn’t goodbye, it’s only so long, Hershel! And don’t worry, I’m positive we’ll meet again.” The professor smiled and looked at her, even as the last remnants of him were whisked away. Soon after, she felt time pulling at her, urging her to her next destination. 

As Claire let the flow of time take her from the world she’d inhabited for so long, Hershel’s loving smile was engraved in her memory.

* * *

_ 10 years later: _

As the professor walked the streets of Future London, Luke by his side, he suddenly saw an all-too-familiar flash of auburn hair. He froze, grappling with himself. His brain told him it wasn’t Claire, it  _ couldn’t _ be Claire, but his heart knew otherwise. The woman passed him, and he turned, snapping out his stupor. “Claire,” he called, hope filling his voice. “Is that you?” 

The woman hesitated, but kept walking, so he tried again. “Claire!”

She stopped this time, her body beginning to shake, and he took a step towards her. “Claire, please look at me. Don’t leave.”

Luke was confused, looking up at his mentor. “Professah, wot’s going on? Who’s-”

“Hershel!” Claire flung herself into his arms, sobbing happily. “I knew it, it’s you, it’s really you!”

“Yes, Claire, it’s me,” he said, laughing. “When you told me we would meet again, I didn’t think it would be here of all places.” The professor turned to his apprentice. “Apologies, Luke. I’ll explain more along the way.” Luke nodded, more than happy to see his mentor smiling so much, and the professor and physicist broke their heartfelt embrace. Then Hershel noticed that Claire looked very different from when they last met- her glasses were missing, and her hair wasn’t the same shade of red. 

Still, it was obvious that it was her, and he couldn’t be happier. “Claire, you look… different. But a good kind of different!”

She laughed, and the sound was music to his ears. “I’m very glad you think so, Hershel! I changed out of my lab coat, so this is what I was wearing during the time machine trial… but the technology in your time is so wonderful! I got contacts to replace my glasses.”

“You're still as beautiful as the day we parted.” 

Claire giggled, a hint of red rising on her cheeks. “And you're still as charming as ever!” The professor realized something, gazing at her in confusion, and she tilted her head. “Hershel? What are you thinking of?”

“You're here now! You’re not supposed to have a corporeal body, but you’re here, and that means some semblance of you survived. But I saw the body- you died!”

The physicist sighed, trying to work the whole thing out herself. “Perhaps I died that day, but the time machine  _ did _ work, Hershel. Dimi- I mean, a friend of mine, told me that I had been shot 10 years into the future. My body may have died that day, but my soul was shot into your present. 

“I do not know for certain, but I believe that other world in which we previously met was a pocket dimension, created by my traveling through time. Since you were already so close to death back then, that may have allowed us to meet. But no sense thinking in the past, I'm here now.”

“Does this mean you’re here to stay? Forever? You’d be the perfect addition to our little family. You could be a mother to little Luke here and Flora-” at the mention of his name, Luke winced as another image of a boat sailing across the sea entered his head- “just like you’ve always wanted, Claire!”

Claire gasped happily, crouching to the boy’s height. “So you mean this is Luke Triton?! Goodness, you’ve certainly grown in the last ten years!”

Luke forgot about the boat immediately and beamed at her, tipping his hat. “Yup! An’ now I’m the professah’s apprentice! I’m a gentleman in training!”

“Well, you’re learning from the best!” The physicist stood and turned back to Hershel. “Dear, as much as I’d like to accept your offer, I’m afraid my existence here is only temporary. My soul, and by extension, this version of me, is very unstable as a result of my time travel. I would guess maybe three or four days at the most before I must return to my own time… the time of the blast.”

The professor frowned, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, but took her hand and smiled slightly instead. “Then we’ll just have to make good use of this time together and give us both memories for years to come.”

“An’ what bettah way to make memories than have an adventure?” Luke exclaimed. “Can she come with us, Professah?”

“My boy, I was going to say that very same thing. So what do you think, Claire? Shall we uncover this mystery together?”

“Hershel, you already know my answer is yes!” Claire threw her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his lips, not caring that they were in public. The professor seemed a little surprised by the sudden affection, but soon leaned into the kiss as well.

Luke pouted, crossing his arms. “Guys, we’ve got a mystery to solve here! Oh, an’ Professah, we  _ are _ in the public eye an’ I don’t think this is very gentlemanly behavior.”

Hershel realized this as well, and he quickly pushed the physicist away with his hat brim pulled over his eyes. “Y-you’re right. I’m just… very happy to have Claire back.”

Even though the hat was covering part of his face, Claire could still tell he was blushing intensely, much to her amusement. “It’s alright, Hershel! I’m sure they don’t mind. Now, what say we get started on this little adventure of ours? I’m just dying to- oh goodness, excuse the pun- hear about your adventures in the past ten years, Hershel!”

The professor smiled at her, a happy twinkle in his eyes. “Of course! I’ll tell you along the way. Come along, you two.” Hershel held Claire’s hand, and following Luke, embarked on their last great adventure together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a faster update because I actually wrote this one down. Don't expect it for future chapters though XD
> 
> The latter part is during Hershel and Claire's first meeting in Future London, the one where the professor freezes after seeing her. Just wanted to make it clear in case some people didn't know :)


	6. You're Important Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ernest just wants Katrielle to appreciate him for once.

Ernest sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and kicking a rock out of his way as he walked along the bank of the Thames. 

Ever since he and Katrielle had gone to Gressenheller to see Bengali’s new robot assistant, she wouldn’t stop gushing about how wonderful it was. So what if he had been outdone in every single aspect? He was still immensely loyal to her and would help her in any way possible, but the detective never seemed to see. 

His eyes burned with unshed tears, and he wiped them away furiously. She never recognized his attempts anyway, whether they were at helping or trying to hint at his love; either the detective was extremely dense or she just didn’t care. “N-no! Miss Layton does care!” Ernest said out loud, trying to convince himself. “She’s said so before! I think…” Groaning, he plopped down onto a bench, his head in his hands. 

Why couldn’t Katrielle see, just once, that he cared for her? 

Then he backtracked, remembering that her father had left in her early childhood, making her vulnerable and likely more than a little scared. As much as he hated to remember it, he knew that feeling all too well- a loved one leaving when you most needed one. 

But even though they had gone through just about the same thing, Ernest found himself wishing that he meant as much to her as she did to him. The assistant sighed again, then shivered as a stiff wind swept through the area. It may have been summer, but it was still as foggy and cloudy as ever. It reminded him of his love getting overshadowed, and it made his heart sink in sadness and regret. 

Then he got up, and as he hoped Katrielle didn't need him to do anything, headed to Scotland Yard. 

* * *

“Ah, hello there, Ernest. What brings you here today?” Emiliana asked, briefly looking up from her profiling to look at him. 

Ernest knew that she and Katrielle were bitter rivals, but Emiliana was nothing but nice to him. “Not much, honestly,” he admitted. “Miss Layton and I did go to see Bengali's new robot servant, Scetteman, yesterday, but that's just about all.”

“Something's bothering you, isn't it? And based on my profiling abilities, I'd be willing to bet it's because of that robot.”

The assistant winced. “Struck the nail on the head as always, Miss Emiliana… yes, it is.”

The analyst tilted her head, stopping her work to look at him. “Would you perhaps care to tell me? Of course you don't have to if you feel uncomfortable doing so, but..?”

Ernest sighed exasperatedly, running one hand through his hair. “I do everything in my power for Miss Layton, and she barely acknowledges me at all! Even though I'm not as good as Scetteman, I try my best and wish that for once, she'd be grateful for what I do!”

“Yes, Kat does seem a bit ungrateful, considering you’d go to the ends of the earth for her. Still, what can you say? That’s Kat for you.”

“I know… but I just wish she loved me back.”

“You what?” An unfamiliar voice asked. Both Ernest and Emiliana jumped, turning to the doorway; there stood Katrielle herself, a quizzical look on her face.

“M-Miss Layton! Please, it’s not what you think!” The assistant exclaimed, his face red and arms flailing wildly. “How much of that did you hear?!”

“Enough,” she quipped, glaring at Emiliana before turning back to Ernest. “I suppose I have been gushing about Scetteman a little too much… though what he does is amazing, no one can ever replace you, Ernest. You have a special place in my agency.”

“I- I do, Miss Layton? I mean, of course I do!”

“You can be good at whatever you do if you just put your mind into it, Ernest! Now come along, we’ve got a case to solve!” Katrielle rushed out of the room, her magnifying glass in hand.

“A case? What case?” Upon seeing that she had already left, the assistant hurried to catch up with her. “Wait for me, miss!” Emiliana watched them go, sighing and smiling as she jumped back into her work.

~-~-~-~-~

“Miss, what case do we have?” Ernest asked once he'd caught up. “You haven't told me about it yet.”

“You see, I was  _ trying  _ to find you this morning, but you'd already disappeared to who knows where,” she huffed, taking his hand and dragging him back to the agency. “If we don't hurry, Emiliana will beat us to it.”

“Emiliana, miss? She's not really a bad person if you think again-”

“She is my rival, Ernest! And rival means we can't let her beat us!”

“Ok then, miss! What's this new case about?”

“The case… of my unrequited love.”

The assistant's face was already red after Katrielle had taken his hand, and it became even redder. “M-Miss Layton?!!”

“Yes, Ernest? Is there a problem with our new case?”

“I-it just doesn't seem like the kind of case we would normally take on. There’s no crime or mystery or anything!”

“Nonsense! It's a perfectly fine case. And one that, I think, you should be able to solve by yourself. You  _ have _ been working for me for quite some time now.”

“A case I can solve by myself? Miss Layton, surely you don’t mean-!”

‘Just call me Kat. While ‘Miss Layton’ makes me sound like a proper lady, it gets a bit tedious at times.”

“Ok, Mi- I mean, Kat! Now as for the case, who do you think did it? After all, your deductions are never wrong.”

Katrielle smirked before turning and pointing at him. “The culprit… is none other than you, Ernest!”

“Hehe… oh, how I’ve dreamed of this day,” he whispered blissfully, a wide, innocent smile on his face.

“Now what was that, my wonderful assistant?” The detective had come up close to him, and he jumped.

“Don’t scare me like that!”

Katrielle chuckled and grabbed his arm, dragging him into the agency. “Haha, let’s just watch a movie, shall we? I got a new one yesterday, and some cookies to eat while we’re at it!” Ernest let himself get pulled into the agency, his dream finally being fulfilled. Katrielle appreciated him- loved him back even. 

It had almost been too much to ask, but in the end, he had what he wanted, and he couldn’t be happier.

* * *

The next morning, Ernest groaned as he got up, not wanting to get out of bed as per usual. Stretching, he saw a little present on his bedside table- and the sender’s name was Katrielle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't watched the complete Mystery Journey anime yet (I did finish the relics arc and saw the millionaire's conspiracy though!) but episode 22... ow.
> 
> Don't just brush off poor Ernest like that, Kat!!! He's trying :(


End file.
